Arc 0: Chapter 4 - Nightingale of Red

red /rɛd/

used to denote something forbidden, dangerous, or urgent.

Flynn had been resting in his car at the time, completely oblivious to what was going on just around the corner. Only tumbleweed passed through the street, the neighbourhood remained perfectly still, locked in stasis, even the random pedestrians that would often walk by here and there were nowhere to be found. Taking in another blast of smoke from his cigarette, Flynn pondered over his surroundings. Based on what he had gathered earlier, the curfew wasn’t till dark, but light was still as bright as ever in the golden sky above.

However, that wasn’t the only thing bothering him at the moment. There was one matter that remained to irk him wherever he went, the matter of his apprentice. When he had taken his position here in the town, he never expected to be babysitting a reckless girl who valued her sweet tooth over her work.

「What’s taking her so long?」

The girl, Erina Nightingale, was a daughter of the esteemed Nightingale family. The Nightingales were not only the richest family in this dull town but they were one of the most prestigious parties elsewhere. Known for their elegant upbringings, their women were always strong and firm in their manners but they also maintained proper etiquette and beliefs — a notion that was soon shattered by one Aurora Nightingale, or so it was said. Lo and behold, their offspring would be anything but elegant in this new age.

“Can’t blame anyone but yourself, Locke,” Flynn spoke to himself as means to break the dead silence that almost engulfed him with his thoughts. He inhaled the last bit of smoke from his cigarette before putting it off and throwing it away.

At that moment, he felt the ground beneath him slightly tremble along with his car — the shaking of the cigarette box in front of his dashboard told him so easily. He wrinkled his eyebrows at this odd occurrence. Yet before he could gather his thoughts on what was going on, his mind had already drifted away to Neverland.

Out of the blue, the whole car sprung up high, tilting up to the left as a great pressure of shrieking wind pushed against Flynn and his car like a whirlpool. The gust was terrifying enough to shatter all the windows to not only the car but nearby cars and buildings; it was baffling. And just when the car was on the verge of flipping over itself on the ground, the wind retracted and the car crashed back in its place, shattering more of the remaining glass inside.

The street grew silent once more.

Flynn remained in shock. He would have almost fallen out of his car and possibly crushed underneath it had there been another gust. When he came to, he realized some of the nearby cars had already been flipped over. He did not have the time to pity the poor schmucks who owned those cars. Like a shot, he jumped off his seat to the next one and eyed the store that was to his right; the store that Erina was supposedly; the store that the wind had come from.

The look of shock and despair did not leave Flynn’s eyes as he realized the truth of this strange situation. Inside the now mess of a store, with its shattered windows and broken shelves, was Erina. She had her arm locked in an offensive position right in front of her. Her sleeve had been rolled up and her bandages were gone, only the plethora of words plastered on her arm remained, they were burning brightly with steam before eventually calming down.

「No…」

Realizing the truth and nature of Erina’s chaotic power, Flynn fell speechless. He could do nothing but lament his fate for this was only the start. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”

△▼△▼△▼△

Deep at the end of the store, the robber laid down unconscious on the ground among the debris, the top of his pants riddled with a dark stain. The impact of Erina’s punch had blasted him away, causing him to crash through the lanes and shelves, and ending up on the other end of the store. Above him was the broken smoothie machine, and true enough to the robber’s downtrodden luck, the machine had somehow sprung back to life and proceeded to pour down a river of peanut butter on him.

“Ugh…,” Erina looked away in disgust as she retreated her arm back.

It was then that she felt a sharp sting pierce through it, and yet she held back the pain. Wrapping the bandages around her arm, she rolled down her sleeve afterwards and turned to look back at the counter.

The boy, the employee, stood petrified at her, his surroundings were a mess but he remained as still as ever. He flinched the moment her eyes met his and quickly ran to the backroom. She could not contain her satisfied grin.

After he had returned with the blue boxes in hand, Erina could not help but shift away from her twisted gaze as her eyes sparkled gloriously with ecstasy from seeing what she longed for right in front of her for the taking. “Taku Puffs…,” she drooled as she fantasized herself hugging a giant cream puff.

Still terrified, the boy placed the boxes on the counter before pushing them forward to the front for her to grab. Instead of chewing her out for wrecking the store to bits, he obeyed her wishes easily and remained silent throughout the whole process — after all, he was simply an employee.

With a winning smile drawn on her face, Erina walked over to the counter confidently, “A gift? For me? You really shouldn’t have!” She took no time in opening one of the boxes and grabbing a package for herself.

“No wonder Shogo didn’t take you!” Flynn Locke, her boss, rushed into the store, breathing in and out as if he had just run through a marathon, yet his face carried disappointment.

Hearing his words, Erina’s smile faded.

“You’re a Maverick!” He said as he approached her. He snatched the package from her before placing it back on the counter, “But you’re still a reckless teenage girl. They told me you’d be experienced, but all I see is a girl who has too much angst to work through.”

She clenched her teeth, “That’s not—”

“End of discussion!” He said. Looking over at the terrified boy, who loosened up after seeing him, he glanced up at the corners of the ceiling for a moment. Nothing seemed to be wrong, and that was enough to ease his thoughts. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his wallet and then handed over some money to the boy. “Here! That should be enough to fix the place.”

“Oh?!” The boy was baffled by the amount of money, “I-I can’t take this, sir.”

“You should and you will,” he turned away the boy’s hand as he tried to return the money, “Half that’s for you — not a word of this to anyone, you hear me, lad?”

The boy nodded, even with the hesitation still visible on his face.

“Good, the watchmen will be here soon to wrap up the mess.” Flynn let out a sigh of relief, yet the tension never left his body. He looked back at Erina, who remained awfully silent with her lips downturned; she resembled a child almost having a tantrum. “We're leaving, kid!”

“I’m not a kid!” She retaliated.

He widened his eyes firmly, “Move. It.”

As the two walked out, Flynn only had one thought on his mind: he carried a ticking time bomb in his grasp.